October 16, 2025 | 01:17 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Maman Abdurrahman, has sparked controversy by proposing that local entrepreneurs should produce counterfeit or knock-off branded bags. "I think instead of us getting troubled, getting headaches, why don't our SMEs also produce knock-off bags," Maman stated at ICE BSD, South Tangerang, on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
Maman's proposal was a direct response to the flood of imported counterfeit goods, which is believed to have severely impacted sales at the Tajur Bogor bag production hub. To address this issue, Maman suggested restricting imports and advising local entrepreneurs to capitalize on the market demand by producing counterfeit goods.
According to Maman, there is no inherent problem with manufacturing counterfeit products. He also expressed confidence that producing knock-off items would not be met with protests from patent holders. "What's the problem? There isn't one, right? There's a Louis Vuitton model, so we just make one called Louis Vutong," he quipped.
The Golkar politician is optimistic about obtaining approval from the Ministry of Law by issuing intellectual property rights for these locally produced bags. Furthermore, Maman justified the proposal by arguing that it serves the critical interest of providing benefits for MSMEs.
Maman admitted he is unconcerned if the local production of knock-offs affects the brand confidence of original manufacturers. "That's their business, not ours," he said, adding his belief that counterfeit production could significantly boost job creation. "We need to twist our mindset. We shouldn't always be the ones suffering."
He plans to discuss this unconventional proposal with the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Trade to encourage entrepreneurs to start manufacturing counterfeit products.
Regarding the market viability of local knock-offs, Maman argued that consumers buy these products because of their similarity in style, not necessarily their quality. Thus, he encourages finding a solution so that entrepreneurs can create counterfeit bags at an appropriate price point. "The quality of goods from China is not that great. But people buy them," Maman concluded.
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